Thursday, April 11, 2013

The liberation of the nation

Today’s young entrepreneurs won’t remember what life was
like in Mrs Thatcher’s day let alone in the years before she became Prime
Minister. But if you are trying to run a small business today then you
have a lot to thank her for.

When Mrs Thatcher came to power in 1979, Britain was “the
sick man of Europe”. The country was run by the diktat of militant trade union
leaders.

You could hardly take enough money abroad to pay for a
week’s holiday on the Costa del Sol while access to finance was a massive joke
– if you even wanted a mortgage you had to join a six-month waiting list.

Mrs Thatcher transformed the business environment. She
welcomed new businesses and entrepreneurs capable of working hard, generating
jobs and creating wealth.

It was necessary because she inherited a vast, unproductive
lump of loss-making nationalised industries: steel mills, car companies, coal
mines and shipyards which employed thousands of people but could not make a
penny profit.

There are many obstacles to creating a successful new
business. But until Mrs Thatcher came along to de-regulate and free the market,
it was virtually impossible for all but the luckiest and most determined
because “the State” ran the country.

Today, the obstacles can be overcome – just ask a Business
Advice Service chartered accountant. In the 1970s and 1980s, they were often
insuperable.

Mrs Thatcher gave us a modern, flexible, dynamic economy.
She created the climate which allowed businesses to grow and prosper. If you’re
in business today, you are almost certainly benefiting from the decisions she
took way back in the 1980s.

And she would be the first to congratulate you on your
success.

·Cranks corner – the Government is now making it
easier for nutters of all persuasions to take action against employers who
refuse them time off to attend Druid festivals or Mayday celebrations. This
from a Government pledged to reducing red tape to make life easier for small
businesses.